The Earth Laughs

We recently celebrated the 12 year anniversary of our "escape" from the city. That first summer was a magical one of healing & recovery. After suffering through back-to-back hospice care, deaths & a host of other griefs, we moved 500 miles south to begin anew. Our first home had picture-windows filled with a mountain. I immersed myself in "Simple Abundance" (by Sarah ban Breathnach), nested, voraciously journalled, & watched.
Our home overlooked a marsh & I daily relished a variety of songbirds, many of which I had only known through books & travel. Hummingbirds warred over the feeders which surrounded our home. There were bluebirds, thrushes, hawks, tits, towhees & far too many others to name! Goldfinches filled me with delight as they flashed electric-yellow. A childhood favorite, the red-winged blackbird nested in our "back forty". I set out gardens & my first window-boxes were filled with the gentle pink of Pentas, which gathered butterflies of all types. We lived there less than a year & I have never found those annuals again...until just recently. I now have window boxes boasting 3 shades of them!

Carried Up

It crept in slowly & insidiously, consuming my joy as it ate away my options. The stuff of this world had stolen in & before I knew it, I was overtaken by "the giant that is made of shadows." I shut down...closed off. Those who knew me, lightly attributed the cause to this or that; but there were deeper storms raging inside the bubble I had built. I see more clearly now how it was a spiritual battle.
One-on-one time with my Saviour enabled Him to chip away at my bubble & I began to heal. When my ability to carry the burdens of others was restored, I could see how my self-absorption had severed lifelines I may have thrown to those drowning nearby. Though I worshiped & prayed, I was cut off from the suffering around me. In the midst of my own darkness, prayer for others connected me & carried me up, even when I lacked the energy or desire to do so.

The Sword of the Spirit

I believe God has gifted me with an eye to discern His hidden treasures, & each year, I shoot thousands of images which remain unseen. I teach people they have a responsibility to use the gifts they were given, & yet do not heed my own words. I started this blog to share the Works of God's Hands, which I have been blessed with the ability to discern.
No sooner had I started this witness, than I came under attack by neighbors for simply being. I nearly caved to depression, but I hung in there & continued my witness. Dear friends moved away & those who followed threatened my morning prayer & Bible time. I "happened upon" a few minutes of a preacher saying how the very utterance of Jesus' name, let alone the mention of His shed blood, drives Satan & his minions shrieking back into the darkness.
I sat on the bench near the pond, & in desperation prayed aloud, claiming peace to our neighborhood through the shed blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I felt better & began my day. That night, an amazing miracle of healing began within our community! Though unrelated to the above, it was far more encompassing & pervasive. It truly was a miracle that no one could have ever anticipated.
The witness of my blog grew by leaps & bounds when shared through FaceBook & yet another spiritual attack began. This time, I crumpled up & withdrew under it's weight. I continued to be assaulted from seemingly every direction. Gradually, & for the first time in months, I began to feel a sense of hope & a renewed strength. I spoke of this with several people & returned home to find a hostile letter secured to my bush. As the anger grew within me, I began to crumple, once again. These powerful words were placed afresh on my heart: "We do not wrestle with flesh & blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this darkness of this present age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)
When Jesus was attacked by Satan, He used but one weapon: "The Sword of the Spirit, which is the very Word of God." (Ephesians 6:17). I turned to my Bible & was strengthened. As small as bound text on a page may seem, I held in my hands, the very word of God....the VERY WEAPON JESUS USED!!
"I CAN do all things through Christ, who strengthens me!" (Philipians 4:13)
It's all good !!!!!

Energizing Light

Tom & I arranged things so that I could come home to an empty house. I needed some time for reflection. After a 10 hour day I wanted to nap...but I mustered my energy & began to wander...& wander some more, until I found myself sitting on the dock after the sun had dropped. My beloved Juliette & I cuddled while we watched the evening show.
I saw some "pinwheels" in the water. They are made by front & back ends of a fish in motion. Sometimes they become 2 vortexes rather than a pinwheel. A male cardinal shrieked an alarm & the pair took off in the amber light. I noticed the steep ridge up to my home was aglow in golden light. The lake was mirror smooth, save for the occasional rings of fish nibbling & jumping. I watched as different groups of geese & ducks made their way across the skies, literally heading south. A lone duck made one last loop around the cove & headed back up-river. The bats came out, swooping so low that I could hear the flap of their wings. They looked rosy when the light caught them just right. I watched as a bat made several swipes across the lake, leaving a wake...taking a drink? I suppose they have to get liquid somewhere. The birds grew silent, the last squirrel scurried up to his nest above me, & the insects began their night song.
I returned home past dark & found myself rejuvenated & awake. I also discovered a spray of flowers, a gift & a card from my beloved husband...on the occasion of our 18th anniversary. The best gift of all, however was the gift of some time on the mirrored lake.

Listening for Peace

While most of our days are still quite warm, the hours of darkness are growing cooler. I find comfort in the ritual of reuniting with my jeans & hoodie. Wrapped in their warmth, I left the soft glow of a dozen candles, & headed out into the barely blueing darkness. The sound of an owl's last calls accompanied me down the trail to the Glade. Even from lakeside, the waterfall behind our home out-roared that of the dam. I listened as the crickets & katydids slowly quieted, replaced by the wrens chorusing the start of another day. They are first in our forest to start the day in mighty praise.


For a better view of the lakes' surface, I sat in a chair on the bank. I carefully chose a seat under sweet gum, sycamore & maple as the thuds of walnuts being released crashed their thuds all around. Still, the dampened forest seemed quieter than usual. With the ebb & flow of autumns' coming winds, the stalks all around me seemed to nod & sway in silent conversation. A remaining, forest sunflower seemed eager to tell me of all that I had missed. I was blessed with an occasional shower as the leaves released last nights' rains. Some of the ducks have relocated here, from the pond. They glide gracefully in the muddied waters & speak in hushed tones. I studied the cross-currents as the winds moved over the water. A school of fish traveled down the channel & turned in my direction, creating a wave in their forward movement. Had their been enough light for a photo, it would not have shown. This kind of subtlety is only revealed in the habit of careful watching.
As I return to the now lightened comfort of my home. I am greeted by a chorus of cheerful mums and the coffee pot's irregular gurgle. The dampening glow of the last candle seems to call it's farewell as I continue in prayer. As the daylight grew, I returned to the deck to bask in the rush of the waterfall. I noticed the chirping of the chipmunks that reside in our gardens. As I had prayed to my Heavenly Father, He carried His reply aloft in the early autumnal breeze. The peace of lakeside in early morning has accompanied me home and I find myself renewed in my Saviour.

Moonlit Morning

The other morning I made my way to the lake, by the light of the moon. I am familiar with the crevices & rocks, stumps & downed branches that even in the shadows of the foliage, I was completely at ease. From the dancing lights on the surface I knew at once that schools of fish were active throughout the cove. Through the eyes of binoculars the scene within was astounding! The shimmers from the fish appeared as a fantastical meteor shower, an added treat as clouds prevented us from watching the Perseus showers. I watched as silver glimmers leaped frantically from ever increasing ringlets throughout the cove. Ever so slowly, the surface stilled as the school made it's way up stream.

`
Over the ridge behind me, the dawn was erupting. The mornings' praises surrounded me as songbirds awoke. The baby wrens are still fed by their parents, but have more matured voices now...I know them. Our little slice of the world has been overwhelmed by the chirping of baby cardinals & this day was the same. Several mallards chatted as they slipped across the water & the heron made his familiar rounds. The moon is setting later now & it was dawn before she disappeared behind the pines. I began my trek towards home to start my day, renewed & refreshed.